Chapter 33: Six Shadows [Part 2] (Review Bonus)

Chapter 33. Six Shadows [Part 2] (Review Bonus)

The assassin on the pillar moved first.

Not toward me.

Up.

He kicked off the broken stone, flipped backward into the darkness, and at the exact same moment the other five attacked.

Formation change.

Two low.

Two high.

One...

Behind.

[Abyssal Hunter’s Domain.]

Found you.

I vanished.

[Void Shift.]

Five weapons converged on empty air while the sixth assassin repositioned above.

I reappeared behind the assassin who’d tried circling me.

He reacted instantly.

Knife backward.

Head down.

Shoulder turned.

Perfect defensive movement.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t holding a weapon.

My weapons were everywhere.

My index finger curled.

Three Eclipse blades behind him changed direction.

His eyes widened.

Too late.

-CLANG!

He blocked the first.

Dodged the second.

The third carved across his thigh.

Blood sprayed across the wall.

He stumbled.

I raised two fingers.

The blades returned.

He jumped backward.

Another assassin intercepted.

Twin daggers flashed.

Three impacts.

Then five.

Then eight.

Black-white sparks filled the corridor.

I smiled.

My soldiers were learning.

Well. Technically, I was learning.

Same difference.

I didn’t need to physically chase these people.

That was the mistake a normal magus would make.

Trying to track six assassins individually was stupid.

So I stopped treating them as six opponents.

I treated the corridor as a board.

Every Eclipse blade became a piece.

Block here.

Force movement there.

Remove escape routes.

Punish predictable reactions.

Control space.

One assassin rushed from my right.

I didn’t even look. "Four."

Four blades crossed behind me.

His sword stopped inches from my neck.

His eyes met mine over the crossed light.

I grinned.

"Hello."

My palm opened.

[Abyssal Darkness Manipulation.]

Darkness erupted beneath him.

Condensed black-violet chains shot from the floor and wrapped around his ankle.

He immediately cut downward.

Smart.

His enchanted blade severed one.

Two more replaced it.

One caught his wrist.

Another his waist.

He twisted violently.

"Stay." I clenched my fist.

The chains yanked.

His body slammed into the stone floor. Hard.

-BOOM!

Blood burst from beneath his mask.

One down.

Temporarily.

Five still moving.

A blade came for my spine.

[Void Shift.]

I disappeared.

The assassin struck nothing.

I reappeared directly above the corridor.

Both hands spread.

[Eclipse Light Manipulation.]

All eighteen blades rose with me.

Then stopped.

For one beautiful second, they hung above the battlefield like a black-and-white constellation.

I dropped my hands. "Rain."

They fell.

The five mobile assassins scattered while the sixth struggled against the chains below.

Fast.

Ridiculously fast.

One ran along the wall.

Another slid beneath two blades.

One deflected three in succession.

The fourth used the fifth’s shoulder as a platform and launched himself through a gap.

And the fifth... Oh, he was coming straight at me.

Interesting choice.

His blade thrust forward.

I twisted sideways.

The blade sliced my cloak.

I caught his wrist.

He immediately released the sword.

Other hand.

Knife.

I released him and leaned back.

The knife passed beneath my chin.

He spun.

Knee toward ribs.

[Void Shift.]

I disappeared.

Reappeared three meters behind him.

He turned.

Too late.

"Left."

One Eclipse blade struck his dagger away.

"Right."

The second carved across his forearm.

"Down."

The third struck behind his knee.

He dropped.

Then another assassin appeared between us.

His sword flashed toward my face.

I blocked with two hovering blades.

-CLANG!

The impact pushed them backward.

Strong.

Much stronger than the others.

Leader?

Maybe.

He pressed forward.

One slash.

Two.

Three.

Five.

Fast enough that my Eclipse blades became streaks.

I stepped backward while controlling six simultaneously around him.

He deflected one.

Duck.

Twist.

Parry.

His sword caught another.

Then he intentionally let one cut his shoulder so he could step inside my defensive range.

Oh?

His blade went directly toward my heart.

I smiled.

[Void Shift.]

His sword pierced black mist.

I materialized behind him.

He had already started turning.

Damn.

He was good.

So I cheated.

[Obsidian Earth Manipulation.]

The floor exploded.

Black crystal erupted around his legs.

His left foot was trapped first.

He immediately jumped with the right.

Another crystal pillar struck from below.

His body twisted.

He avoided being impaled, but his right leg didn’t clear the closing formation.

-CRACK!

His scream finally broke their silence.

The Obsidian Earth snapped shut around his lower leg.

One Eclipse blade flashed.

Blood struck the wall.

His severed lower leg remained trapped inside the crystal.

He collapsed.

Leader incapacitated.

Two down.

Four remaining.

Two assassins attacked me simultaneously.

Apparently they disliked that.

One from either side.

I raised my hands.

Eclipse blades intercepted.

Steel collided.

Black-white light exploded.

The assassin on my left ducked beneath the collision and lunged.

I turned my wrist.

A blade that had seemingly missed him curved behind his shoulder.

His arm dropped.

For half a second, he stared at it.

Then at the empty space where his arm had been.

Blood poured down his side.

He didn’t scream.

Impressive.

His remaining hand reached for another knife.

I flicked my finger.

[Abyssal Darkness Manipulation.]

Chains wrapped around his chest and slammed him against the wall.

Three down.

The second assassin came from above.

I saw him through the Domain.

I didn’t look up.

Three Eclipse blades did.

He somehow avoided all three.

Fourth.

Avoided.

Fifth.

He twisted.

Sixth.

His dagger deflected it.

Seventh came from his blind side.

His arm moved.

Too slow.

The Eclipse blade passed through his forearm.

His weapon and severed hand struck the floor separately.

He landed hard.

Before he could move, black chains exploded upward.

Wrist.

Ankle.

Throat.

Waist.

Pinned.

I tilted my head, watching the blood spread beneath him. "Don’t look so horrified. I left you a spare."

Four down.

Two still moving.

A throwing needle flashed toward my eye.

One of those two.

I Void Shifted.

Reappeared beside the caster.

He had already drawn another.

I caught his wrist.

His free hand went for my throat.

An Eclipse blade intercepted.

Another circled behind him.

He sensed it.

Turned his head.

That saved his skull.

Not his eyes.

The blade flashed across his mask.

He screamed.

Finally.

A proper scream.

He stumbled backward, both hands flying toward his face as blood seeped between his fingers.

I let out a low, twisted laugh.

[Abyssal Darkness Manipulation.]

Chains caught him.

He struggled blindly.

The chains tightened and dragged him to the ground.

Five down.

One remaining.

Except...

[Abyssal Hunter’s Domain.]

One of the signatures behind me was weakening.

Very quickly.

I glanced toward the first assassin I’d slammed into the stone floor.

Ah... Internal injuries.

His breathing had become shallow.

His heartbeat irregular.

Dying.

That was inconvenient.

I wanted answers.

The last mobile assassin apparently realized exactly how badly this operation had gone.

He retreated.

Fast.

Very fast.

Straight toward the eastern passage.

I laughed. "You’re leaving already?"

Both palms hit the floor.

[Obsidian Earth Manipulation.]

The temple groaned.

Black crystal spread through the ancient stone like veins.

A wall erupted ahead of him.

He changed direction.

Another wall.

He jumped.

Ceiling spikes descended.

He twisted sideways and landed against the opposite wall, immediately kicking away.

Another crystal barrier erupted.

He struck it with his enchanted blade.

-BOOM!

Cracks appeared.

Not enough.

The walls closed around him.

Not crushing.

Caging.

He spun, looking for another route.

There wasn’t one.

Then darkness poured through the gaps.

[Abyssal Darkness Manipulation.]

Chains.

Dozens.

They wrapped around his arms.

Legs.

Torso.

The assassin severed three.

Five more replaced them.

He twisted.

Another snapped around his wrist.

Then his ankle.

Then his throat.

An Eclipse blade shot through the opening and stabbed through his cloak, pinning it against the wall.

Another stopped directly against his throat.

He froze.

Silence returned.

I stood in the center of the ruined corridor.

Blood everywhere.

Six assassins.

One missing part of his leg.

Two missing an arm each.

One blinded.

One dying from internal injuries.

And the final assassin physically intact, but trapped inside an Obsidian Earth cage with Abyssal chains wrapped around him.

Nobody dead.

Technically.

Excellent restraint.

My wives would be proud.

Probably not.

I slowly walked toward them.

My Eclipse blades followed.

Blood dripped from several edges.

The assassins watched me.

Those who still could, anyway.

I stopped in front of the apparent leader.

The one missing his leg.

He was pale beneath the partially torn mask, but his eyes remained cold.

Disciplined.

I crouched. "Who sent you?"

Nothing.

"Raven?"

No reaction.

"Shadow Assassin Guild?"

Nothing.

I sighed.

Of course.

These people weren’t going to say a word.

Assassins Valley doctrine.

Capture meant silence.

Interrogation meant resistance.

And if I released them?

They’d probably kill themselves before allowing information to be extracted.

Poison capsule.

Hidden curse.

Heart-stopping technique.

Something equally dramatic.

I looked around.

Six elite assassins.

Alive.

Mostly.

Uncooperative.

My fingers tapped thoughtfully against my knee.

I stood. My smile widened. "Since you guys chose silence..."

[Abyssal Formation Creation.]

Black-violet lines began spreading beneath their feet.

"You don’t have to tell me anything. I already know it was Raven." My smile widened. "I know his guild’s techniques. You fight exactly like him."

I tilted my head. "So I guess it’s only polite that I answer his little attack, don’t you think?"

I watched the formation grow.

Circle after circle.

Layer after layer.

Then I whispered, "Mutation..."